Bangka Firefighters Overwhelmed by 10 Daily Forest and Land Fire Reports

KEBAKARAN hutan dan lahan (karhutla) continue to occur across several areas in Bangka Regency, Bangka Belitung Islands Province. In a single day, at least 4 to 10 reports of forest and land fires are received by the local fire department (Damkar). With the high volume of reports, firefighting personnel in Bangka Regency are beginning to be overwhelmed in handling these incidents. Acting Head of the Bangka Regency Satpol PP Office, Achmad Suherman, stated that this year’s dry season is more severe compared to last year. “The weather is extraordinarily hot, not to mention the strong winds, it’s different from last year, which is why there are so many forest and land fire incidents,” Suherman said on Tuesday (11/8). He noted that from July until now, there have been reports of forest and land fires at various locations every single day. “From July to this month, there have been at least 5 to 10 reports of forest and land fires,” he said. According to Suherman, the high number of reports is overwhelming firefighters. “Our personnel are starting to be overwhelmed by the number of reports. Moreover, the firefighting fleet is inadequate because the vehicles are old,” he revealed. “It’s not just the old fleet, we are also overwhelmed because of the limited budget, especially for firefighting fuel,” he explained. He stated that from January to August, the total area of land burned has reached 300 hectares. “A total of 300 hectares, with the most incidents occurring along the East Bangka highway,” he said. As a result of the high intensity of forest and land fires in Bangka, the Bangka Regency Government has declared a state of alert for forest and land fires. The authorities are urging the public to remain vigilant and not to burn land or carelessly discard cigarette butts. “In this kind of weather, we urge residents not to burn rubbish carelessly and not to throw away cigarette butts,” he said.